I was born at No - The MAN & Other Families

26There we were introduced to the partners and to our work. I was appointed AssistantAccountant. A nice fellow, (Dunlop) was my boss. The staff consisted of three partnersand eighteen assistants, three of which were in charge of the firm's three rice mills at thesuburban points of Poozoondowy and Kemendine. One of the first things was to engage aMadrassi “Boy” or valet and the next was to buy a Solah Topee and a bedroom kerosenelamp.The partners all had private houses but the assistants had two chummeries, one calledFerndale and the other The Folly. I was assigned to Ferndale where were three fellowlodgers, Young, Somerville, and Jack Beatson. The European residential part of Rangoonwas in the Cantonments on rising ground to the north of the business and native part ofthe town, which was on the level along the banks of the river. Ferndale was a large roomybungalow with a wide verandah upstairs. The rooms were scantily furnished and it tookme sometime to get accustomed to seeing lizards creeping along the walls stalking fliesand bugs of all sorts. The beds were covered with muslin curtains to keep out themosquitoes and there was a bathroom attached to each bedroom. The bathroom had anenclosed cement floor in the middle of which was an oval wooden tub and beside it ahuge chatty of cold water. Bathing was performed by first sitting in a cold bath and thenpouring cold water from the chatty with a dipper over one's head. This after a ride in themorning was very refreshing.My salary to begin with was two hundred and fifty rupees per month, raised to twohundred & seventy-five the second year and three hundred the third year and so on. Itwas a great satisfaction to me to be now not only self-supporting, but to be able to send asmall monthly remittance to my mother, increasing progressively year by year as mysalary increased. Frank had been doing the same thing ever since he went to Java sobetween us we were able to ease the burden on my mother.Each member of the Staff had some outside morning work to do before office hourscommenced which entailed the necessity of keeping a pony. The piece-goods men forinstance had to go round the native bazaars and get in touch with customers and buyers.Those in the rice department had to visit the rice mills and bring back reports. My dutywas to visit and superintend the work of the engineering and stores department atPoozoondowy where we had a large foundry, engineering works and stores of iron,machinery, etc. This meant getting up before six in the morning and after a "ChotahHazree" of tea and toast, riding down to Poozoondowy, getting back at about eight, havea glass of mango-fool, tub, dress, have breakfast and then down to office where workstarted at nine. The office closed at four, after which we went home and spent the rest ofthe afternoon until dark riding or playing tennis, boating on the lake or whatever ourparticular term of sport happened to be. After sundown everybody foregathered at theGymkhana Club. This club at that time consisted of only one large room downstairs witha bar and small tables with chairs at which the men used to gather in groups and drinkand smoke. Upstairs was a ladies' room and a dancing-room and card room. There used tobe an afternoon dance twice a week to the music of a military band. There were fourtennis courts and a cricket ground. A little later three billiard tables and a bowling alley